What is the work of the Holy Spirit photos on Flickr

Church in the WILDWOOD vs. Old Time RELIGION by Ronny Herbst

Great Gospel of John & Household of God

Do not in future build houses of prayer for Me but guest houses and refuges for the poor who can not pay you!

In the love of your poor brothers and sisters shall you be My true worshippers, and in such houses of prayer I shall be frequently among you, without you necessarily becoming aware of it; but in temples built for worshipping Me with the lips, as it has been till now, I shall henceforth dwell no more than man's intellect would in his little toe.

If however you have to awaken your hearts towards Me and enter upon the right humility in an exalted temple, then move outside into the temple of My Creations, and sun, moon and all the stars and the sea, the mountains and the trees and the birds of the air, as also the fish in the water and the countless flowers of the fields shall proclaim My glory to you!

Say, is not the tree more glorious than all the splendour of the temple at Jerusalem?! A tree is a pure work of God, it has its life and brings forth nourishing fruit. But what does the temple bring forth? I say unto you: nothing but arrogance, anger, envy, the most blatant jealousy and domineering; because it is not God's, but the vain work of man.

Verily, verily I say unto you all; he who shall honor, love and therewith worship Me by doing good to his brothers and sisters in My name shall have his everlasting reward in heaven; but he who henceforth honors Me with all kinds of ceremonies in a temple built especially for this shall also have his temporal reward from the temple! When however after the death of his flesh he shall come to Me and say: 'Lord, Lord, have mercy on me, your servant', I shall then say unto him: 'I do not know you; hence depart from Me and seek your reward with him who you served!' For this reason you too should henceforth have nothing more to do with any temple!

God also never taught the people to honor Him with lips and keep their hearts cold. But since Samuel prayed audibly in front of the people, equally so several of the prophets, and because David sang to God the Lord his psalms and Salmo his High Song, the people came to empty lip prayer and to cold sacrifices.

However, before God such prayers and sacrifices are repulsive! He who cannot pray in the heart should rather not pray at all, so as to not behave improper before God. God did not give feet, hands, eyes, ears and lips to man to pray vainly and vacuously, but only the heart!

For what use is the senseless bawling in the church, if thousands of poor and hungry brothers outside the church are not considered?!

Go and strengthen first the needy, feed the hungry, quench the thirsty, clothe the naked, comfort the sad, free the imprisoned and preach the gospel to the poor in spirit, then you will do endlessly better than to blare day and night in the churches with your lips, while your hearts were cold and unreceptive to your poor brothers!

Why would you build a separate house while you already have houses in which you live, wherein you also can come together in My name to discuss about My teaching and to tell about the experiences which everyone will certainly have when they live according to God's will?

It is also not necessary to introduce a certain feast day for that which you would call - like for instance the Pharisees call the Sabbath - 'the day of the Lord'. Because every day is a day of the Lord, and so on every day just as many good works can be done, because God does not look at a day and still less at a house that is build to honor and worship Him, but God looks only at the heart and the will of man. If the heart is pure and the will is good, and when these will make the whole man active, then this is already the true, real house of God's Spirit in man, and so his always good and active will according to the known will of God is the true and thus also the always real day of the Lord.

But if in a community you want to build a house out of love for Me, let this then be a school for your children, and give them teachers according to My teaching. You also can build a house for the poor, the sick and the disabled. Provide such a house of everything that is necessary to take care of the people who live there, then you always will be able to rejoice in My pleasure. All the rest and that which is in addition is evil and has, as already said, no value for God.

Do tell My children and all others, no matter of what religion: on earth there is only one church, and this is the love for Me in My Son. This love is the Holy Spirit within you, which reveals itself to you through My living Word. Thus I am in you; and your soul, whose heart is My dwelling place, is the sole Church on earth. In it alone there is eternal life, and it is the sole redeeming one! Or do you think I am present within the walls or in the ceremony or in prayer or veneration? Oh, no, there you are very much mistaken. There I am nowhere to be found, but only where there is love, there I am also!

St Mary, Aldham, Suffolk by Jelltex

There was never any doubt I would go to Rob's funeral. Rob was born just two weeks before me, and in our many meetings, we found we had so much in common.

A drive to Ipswich should be something like only two and a half hours, but with the Dartford Crossing that could balloon to four or more.

My choice was to leave early, soon after Jools left for work, or wait to near nine once rush hour was over. If I was up early, I'd leave early, I said.

Which is what happened.

So, after coffee and Jools leaving, I loaded my camera stuff in the car, not bothering to program in a destination, as I knew the route to Suffolk so well.

Checking the internet I found the M2 was closed, so that meant taking the M20, which I like as it runs beside HS2, although over the years, vegetation growth now hides most of it, and with Eurostar cutting services due to Brexit, you're lucky to see a train on the line now.

I had a phone loaded with podcasts, so time flew by, even if travelling through the endless roadworks at 50mph seemed to take forever.

Dartford was jammed. But we inched forward, until as the bridge came in sight, traffic moved smoothly, and I followed the traffic down into the east bore of the tunnel.

Another glorious morning for travel, the sun shone from a clear blue sky, even if traffic was heavy, but I had time, so not pressing on like I usually do, making the drive a pleasant one.

Up through Essex, where most other traffic turned off at Stanstead, then up to the A11 junction, with it being not yet nine, I had several hours to fill before the ceremony.

I stopped at Cambridge services for breakfast, then programmed the first church in: Gazeley, which is just in Suffolk on the border with Cambridgeshire.

I took the next junction off, took two further turnings brought be to the village, which is divided by one of the widest village streets I have ever seen.

It was five past nine: would the church be open?

I parked on the opposite side of the road, grabbed my bag and camera, limped over, passing a warden putting new notices in the parish notice board. We exchange good mornings, and I walk to the porch.

The inner door was unlocked, and the heavy door swung after turning the metal ring handle.

I had made a list of four churches from Simon's list of the top 60 Suffolk churches, picking those on or near my route to Ipswich and which piqued my interest.

Here, it was the reset mediaeval glass.

Needless to say, I had the church to myself, the centuries hanging heavy inside as sunlight flooded in filling the Chancel with warm golden light.

Windows had several devotional dials carved in the surrounding stone, and a huge and "stunningly beautiful piscina, and beside it are sedilia that end in an arm rest carved in the shape of a beast" which caught my eye.

A display in the Chancel was of the decoration of the wooden roof above where panels contained carved beats, some actual and some mythical.

I photographed them all.

I programmed in the next church, a 45 minute drive away just on the outskirts of Ipswich, or so I thought.

The A14 was plagued by roadworks, then most trunk roads and motorways are this time of year, but it was a fine summer morning, I was eating a chocolate bar as I drove, and I wasn't in a hurry.

I turned off at Claydon, and soon lost in a maze of narrow lanes, which brought be to a dog leg in the road, with St Mary nestling in a clearing.

I pulled up, got out and found the air full of birdsong, and was greeted by a friendly spaniel being taken for a walk from the hamlet which the church serves.

There was never any doubt that this would be open, so I went through the fine brick porch, pushed another heavy wooden door and entered the coolness of the church.

I decided to come here for the font, which as you can read below has quite the story: wounded by enemy action no less!

There seems to be a hagioscope (squint) in a window of the south wall, makes one think or an anchorite, but of this there is little evidence.

Samuel and Thomasina Sayer now reside high on the north wall of the Chancel, a stone skull between them, moved here too because of bomb damage in the last war.

I drove a few miles to the next church: Flowton.

Not so much a village as a house on a crossroads. And the church.

Nothing so grand as a formal board outside, just a handwritten sign say "welcome to Flowton church". Again, I had little doubt it would be open.

And it was.

The lychgate still stands, but a fence around the churchyard is good, so serves little practical purpose, other than to be there and hold the signs for the church and forthcoming services.

Inside it is simple: octagonal font with the floor being of brick, so as rustic as can be.

I did read Simon's account (below) when back outside, so went back in to record the tomb of Captain William Boggas and his family, even if part of the stone is hidden by pews now.

I had said to myself, that if I saw signs for another church, I might find time to visit. And so it was with Aldham, I saw the sign pointing down a narrow lane, so I turned and went to investigate.

First it looked like the road ended in a farmyard, but then I saw the flint round tower of the church behind, so followed the lane to the church gate.

There was a large welcoming sign stating, proudly, that the church is always open.

St Mary stands on a mound overlooking a shallow valley, water stand, or runs slowly, in the bottom, and it really is a fine, fine location for a church.

I pushed through the gate and went up the path to the south porch, where the door swung open once again.

The coolness within enveloped me.

An ancient font at the west end was framed by a brick-lined arch, even to my untrained eyes, I knew this was unusual.

There were some carved bench ends, some nice fairly modern glass, but the simplicity of the small church made for a very pleasant whole.

I no longer watch TV much, so was unaware of the view and indeed church being used in the TV show, The Detectorists.

One of Suffolk's hidden treasures, for sure.

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I cycle past this church often - or, at least, the top of the lane that leads down to it. Traffic rushes along the busy Ipswich to Sudbury road not far off, but there is a quieter, parallel road which not many people seem to know about. It leaves Ipswich through Sproughton and will take you all the way to Sudbury, visiting the likes of Burstall, Kersey and Little Waldingfield on the way. Aldham as a village is little more than a straggle of houses, but they lie along this road, and just beyond a cluster of houses you take a sudden turn to the left, on to a pretty track to Aldham Hall. Down through fruit trees you descend, until the walls become older, and there at the end are the farm buildings. Beyond them, is this pretty church.

If the church is pretty, the view from it is doubly so - to the south, the land drops away alarmingly, into a valley full of sheep. You may even think you recognise it, and you could well be right, for the second season of the popular TV series The Detectorists was filmed here, as a small display in the porch of the church reminds you. The church appeared in the opening credits of each programme, the two main characters searching for buried treasure in Aldham Vale below the churchyard.

This is lovely, and splendidly English. Nothing could be more peaceful. But beyond, the land rises to a dark sea of trees, the mysteriously named Wolves Wood, now an RSPB reserve. Looking along to the right, the other hilltop is where the Protestant preacher Roland Taylor was burned at the stake in the 1550s, a site of pilgrimage for his many American descendants. Whatever your reading of the English Reformation, Taylor's burning was a terrible event. One imagines the villagers gathered outside this church, watching the flames and smoke rise.

I remembered the first time I came here, back in the 1990s. We arrived on one of those humid, overcast summer days, on our way to the Bildeston Beer Festival. My young children scattered off to play hide and seek with their mother in the precipitous graveyard. An elderly man was pottering about, looking at 19th Century graves, so I apologised for my family (as you do). But he seemed genuinely pleased that they were running about like mad things. He was tracing his family, and had come down from Norfolk to look for a particular grave of an ancestor. And he'd found it. He was pretty pleased about that, too. He was also following up a theory that his ancestor had been a Rector of this parish. His address had been Aldham Rectory. Did I have any idea how he could find out? I suggested that the church might have a board of 'Rectors of this Parish'. Many do. These are a pleasant Victorianism, intended to overcome the 16th Century breach by claiming a history of the CofE that extended back before the Reformation. We could go inside, and take a look. And we did - the church was militantly open, the inner door wedged wide. We found the board - but the name wasn't there. So, the mystery remained unsolved.

This church was pretty well derelict by the mid 19th Century, and underwent a fairly late restoration, in 1883. The tower was rebuilt, as was the south wall of the nave. The roofs were replaced, giving an overwhelmingly Victorian appearance, although Sam Mortlock detected the Norman, and possibly Saxon, ancestor. The hill itself suggests a very early foundation, perhaps on a site of pagan worship.

The architect was WM Fawcett, and there was another restoration of the inside in the early 20th Century under the eyes of diocesan surveyor and renowned antiquarian H Munro Cautley. The resulting interior is one of those neat and shiny jobs that is certainly grand, and pleasant enough, but rather dated now. Our early 21st Century spirituality seems to respond more to dusty, ancient interiors than to these High Church ritualisations. But you get a sense of a church that is still much loved, well-cared for, and used regularly.

Aldham parish have gone one further than a wedged-open door, and a big sign has been erected at the bottom of the lane proclaiming that Our Church is Always Open, and so it is easy to step inside. And it is not without survivals, some of them fascinating. The benches are mostly Cautleys from the 1920s, but he incorporated a couple of earlier ones. These are unlike anything else I've seen in Suffolk, and their primitive quality suggests a local origin. The one to the west apparently shows a bear, or possibly a lion. My first impulse was that it was some kind of heraldic device, but what is the shaved off object it holds in its mouth, and is the pattern emerging from beneath the head really fur? Back in 1999, my six year old took one look at it and decided that the creature isn't eating the bird, but the bird is flying out of its mouth. Could it be a dove? And could the three objects issuing from beneath the head actually be tongues of fire? In which case, could this be some strange composition representing Pentecost, and the descent of the Holy Spirit?

In the spandrel above the bear, or whatever it is, there is a lily, the symbol of the Annunciation. But it is also a symbol of the crucifixion. It calls to mind the rare lily crucifixes, of which just two are known to survive in Suffolk, at Long Melford and Great Glemham. Could this be an unrecorded third? The other bench end is probably easier to read. The crown is obvious enough. The star and crescent are familiar from representations of the crucifixion. The pike is a familiar instrument of the Passion. And, if you look in the spandrel above, you'll see a crown of thorns, so this may well be a composition representing the Passion.

A third bench end, to the east, shows just a simple spiked tool, that looks as if it might have been used in thatching. So, what's it all about? They are all a bit of a mystery, really.

And what of the font? This is curious too. It appears to be Norman, but a second glance finds it too elegant, too finely detailed. The pillars are almost Classical in design, and the whole piece has a touch of the 18th Century about it. Was it brought here from somewhere else in the 1880s? Or is it a Victorian recutting of a Norman predecessor? Whatever, the revealed brickwork of the late medieval tower arch looks most fitting behind it.

To see Cautley's work in its full glory, step up into the chancel for the reredos and its flanking niches, as grand as a side-chapel in a French cathedral. Cautley was usually a safe pair of hands in these churches he loved so well, but I wonder what he had been thinking to impose this triumphalism on this pretty little country church. Alfred Wilkinson's contemporary glass above it suits it well, but even so it is rather hard to imagine the same thing happening today. Postdating it by a few decades is a set of arms for Elizabeth II above the south doorway. East Anglia has no more than half a dozen sets, and these ones are rather good.

Standing in the nave and looking east to the splendour of the reredos, it is hard to imagine the real glory that once was here. But John Nunn contacted me, to tell me about a will he has a copy of. In 1525, his ancestor Robert Clifford declared: I bequeath I will have the rood there upon the candlebeam set up higher and Mary & John and two new angels and the breast under the rood korvyn and when that is done I will have all this painted and guilt whatsoever the cost. I will have bought two standards of brass stand in the choir and I will my executors bestow therein 40/-. I will my executors shall buy four candlesticks of brass for the candlebeam, I give six kine unto the church of Aldham to keep my obit with as long as the world stand.

What does all this mean? Firstly, you have to remember that England was a devoutly Catholic country in 1525, and the fittings of the church were for the actions of the Catholic liturgy. In the late 15th and early 16th Centuries, all Suffolk churches had a rood in place. This was a representation of the crucifixion, set above the chancel arch. On the left hand side of the cross always stood the Virgin Mary, and on the other side stood St John. Often, the wall behind was painted. The rood either hung on the wall, or was supported by a beam. However, there was always a beam that ran below it for candles to be lit on. This was called the candlebeam, or rood beam. The candles were placed on it by individuals or guilds as part of the process of prayer, particularly prayer for the souls of the dead. A rood loft ran beside it for access, and the space beneath was infilled with a rood screen. To make the rood even more glorious, the roof above was panelled, and the panels were painted blue, with gold stars, and perhaps Marian monograms. This was called the canopy of honour, or more simply, the coving (rendered delightfully in Suffolk dialect as Korvyn above.)

Robert Clifford was paying for a simple rood to be made more glorious. He was going to have it placed higher, with a new canopy of honour. He was paying for brass candlesticks to replace wooden candlestocks.

Why? Simply, the medieval economy of grace depended upon the living praying for the dead, and the dead praying for the living. In donating glorious things to his church, Clifford was ensuring that he would be remembered. The roodscreen would have a dedicatory inscription with his name on. He was saying - I won't forget you, don't you forget me. The Catholic liturgy formalised prayers for the dead in the form of obit masses.These were said on the anniversary of someone's death in perpetuity. The proceeds of the sale of the six cows (kine) would be invested, probably in land to be rented, to pay a priest to say these masses - as long as the world shall stand; that is, for ever.

Unfortunately, 'for ever' didn't last very long. Prayers for the dead were declared illegal by the protestant reformers in the late 1530s. By 1547, every single rood in the land had been toppled and burned. The rood lofts were hacked down, along with many of the candle beams (although about ten beams survive in Suffolk) and most of the rood screens were also destroyed (about 50 survive in Suffolk).

Nothing of Robert Clifford's gifts survive at Aldham. All the gilt would have been stripped, the brass candlesticks melted down, and the proceeds sequestered by the King's commissioners. The collected glory of all the churches of England was squandered by Henry VIII on high living, and on the expensive and pointless siege of Boulogne. A sad thought.

When I first came here in 1999, I remember the graveyard was full of wild thyme and especially sorrel, which we gathered in handfuls and ate later in the day with fresh trout and new potatoes. Twenty years have passed since then, and it was too early for the sorrel this year. Instead I just stood, and looked out across the gentle valley, the sheep cropping their way slowly westward. It was easy to recognise the opening of The Detectorists in the vale below. And I looked beyond to Wolves Wood, and the site of Roland Taylor's martyrdom. Hard to imagine such history happening to such a modest little parish.

Simon Knott, March 2019

www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/aldham.htm

All Saints, Boughton Aluph, Kent by Jelltex

3

Its beginning to feel a little like Spring.

Even if the temperature didn't get above 4 degrees today, the sun did shine, and there was little breeze. And on our travels through the Kent countryside, spring flowers were everywhere to be seen.

We got up at half six when the water heater fired up, fed the cats, gave Scully her jab and made coffee.

Then to Whitfield for some hunting and gathering. Jools needing a cider restock and then the rest of the stuff we get through each week.

At least shopping so early means missing most of the crazies, and we see the same faces each week, though not well enough to speak, maybe the nod of a head.

Back home for breakfast of fruit and tea, put the shopping away and ignore the meows for more food.

And off out for some gentle churchcrawling. Our first target is perhaps the last substantial Norman church in east Kent I had yet to visit: Great Chart.

Great Chart is now a suburb of Ashford, which is spreading westwards towards the Romney Marsh. This means navigating the series of manic roundabouts onto the A28, past Waitrose and out of town, turning off on about the tenth roundabout, and through the village, no new builds here.

And on top of the hill is the church, which Google maps assured me would be open at ten. It was twenty five to eleven, so safe as milk?

No. It was locked, with no details of keyholders. So I took some exterior shots and we walked back to the car.

I had a back up. We were going here anyway, just Jools didn't know.

On the other side of Ashford, out in the countryside, and just below the treeline of Kings Wood, at the end of a dead end lane next to a manor house, is Boughton Aluph.

I knew it would be locked, but also knew there was details of a keyholder. So, once we arrived, I called the number, was given directions, and off we set to Boughton Leas.

Up a six footer up the down, right at a junction, then right at the first cottage, and the old lady was waiting.

We reversed out, turned round and went back to the church, parking in the entrance to a field.

Beds jammed with Winter Aconites abounded, but i only had eyes for the church, up the steep path and through the old swing gate.

There is no path to the Priest's door, just a track of flattened grass. I went down the stops, inserted the key and turned, the door moved, then opened.

Inside is a large a airy space, well lit through windows with little stained glass. Entry is via the vestry in the north chapel, so I walk out into the Chancel, ad look back at the large Nave, filled with chairs.

The walls are sparsely adorned, with the memorials that are there as listed by Hasted below. Amazing to think of details recorded 220 years ago are still there and recognisable by his description.

The church has a new organ, which I am told sounds splendid in the summer when there are regular concerts as part of Stour Valley Music group.

Beside the organ I see the wall painting of The Trinity, though it is hard to see it all other than via an oblique view as the organ is in the way.

Ancient glass fills the upper traceries of the east window, most in good condition. At the west in, shards and remnants make more of an abstract display.

After half an hour I was done, so leave a donation and exit the church, locking the door behind me.

We took the key back, then was the question: shall we have lunch out?

We shall.

But where.

I mention the New Flying Horse in Wye, which is three miles away across the Stour and railway. So off we go. At the level crossing we see the new barriers, which replaced the manual gates a couple of years back, then up through the village, past the mad parking near the market, and along a back street to the pub.

It was five minutes past opening time.

They had a table, and at least three menus. We both chose steakburgers, and so waited and people-watched until the food arrived.

It was nothing extraordinary, but that's not what you want in a burger: just cheese, bacon and pickles. And lots of crispy fries.

We pay, and leave. Jools had accidentally ordered a pint of cider, so I drove back, back over Wye Down, to Stone Street then to Bridge and onto the A2.

Traffic was very light, we got back at two, just in time to watch the end of the lunchtime games and make a brew before taking my place beside Scully on the sofa.

Where I then fell asleep for half an hour.

Norwich only drew at Hull, a team we put to the sword in the warm autumn sunshine back in September.

Bacon butties for supper, then settle down to watch Palace v Everton, and it was the Toffees who win again under their old new manager, David Moyes.

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A connoisseur's church built in the thirteenth century by a man called Adulphus to replace a Saxon church. About a hundred years later the church was substantially enlarged under Sir Thomas Aldon, a courtier of Edward III. Stained glass shields of the King and associated Kentish families still survive as part of the fantastic East window where the upper lights actually follow the curve of both the external arch and the arch of the three main lights below. How fine it must have looked when completely glazed in stained glass. The south porch has a rare fireplace - showing that it may have been adapted to cater for pilgrims on their way to the shrine of Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. Of the same date is the fine screen and possibly the floor tiles. In the north transept is a good example of late fifteenth century wall painting. It depicts the Trinity and is set in a series of decorative frames. Regrettably the dove - central to the story as representative of the Holy Spirit - has long disappeared.

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Boughton+Aluph

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BOUGHTON ALUPH

IS the next parish westward from that of Wye. It is frequently spelt Bocton, and is written in Domesday, Boltune, and has the addition of Aluph to it from one of its antient owners, Alulphus de Bocton, as well as to distinguish it from the other parishes of the same name in this county, and in a will, proved anno 1416, in the Prerogative-office, Canterbury, I find it mentioned by the name of the parish of Boughton Aluph, otherwise called Boughton in the Bushe. There are four boroughs in it, Goatlands, Wilmington, Dane, and Hebbinge.

THE PARISH lies about twelve miles distant both from Canterbury and Faversham, and about four from Ashford, the high road from Canterbury to the latter goes along the foot of the hills, near the eastern boundary of the parish, where the soil is chalky; close on the east side of the road is Buckwell-house, great part of which has been some time since pulled down, but there is sufficient remaining, with the offices and walls about it, to shew it was once a seat of some note, and at no great distance on the hill, high above the road, is the church and court-lodge. Above this, still further westward, is much open, rough ground, called the Warren, on a chalky soil, reaching beyond the high Faversham road, the new inclosure in Eastwell park adjoining to it, being within this parish; within the northern boundary of it there is a parcel of woodland, about one hundred acres lying in Kingswood, just above Socombe down; it was formerly part of Barton manor, and was sold off from it by Mr. Breton a few years before he sold that manor to Sir Robert Furnese, bart, by whose daughter Catherine it went in marriage to the earl of Guildford, whose grandson George-Augustus, earl of Guildford, is now possessed of it. By the pales of Eastwell park, at a small distance from the mansion of it, the last mentioned road descends below the hill to low ground, and mostly a gravelly soil; on it is the village, situated round a green, called Boughton lees, the west side only of which is in this parish. At the southern boundary of the parish, on the Ashford road, is the borough and hamlet of Wilmington, the antient mansion of which stood close to the road, it has been long since pulled down. It stood within a moat, which is still very entire, its area containing half an acre of ground; many old foundations have been dug up round about it within memory.

There is a fair held on the lees on Midsummer day for toys and pedlary.

IN THE TIME of the Saxons this place was in the possession of earl Godwin, who was succeeded in it by his eldest son earl Harold, afterwards king of England, on whose death in the fatal battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror having obtained the crown, seized on all the late king's estates, and gave this of Boughton to Eustance, earl of Bologne, who had followed him over hither, as a reward for his services; and he possessed it in the 15th year of that reign, at the time the survey of Domesday was taken, in which it is thus entered, under the title of Terra Comitis Eustachii, i. e. the land of earl Eustace.

In the lath of Wivarlet, in Wihundred, the earl holds Boltune. Earl Goduin held it, and it was taxed at seven sulings, then and now. The arable land is thirty-three carucartes. In demesne there are three, and sixty-seven villeins, with five borders having thirty carucates. There is a church, and seventeen servants, and two mills of seven shillings and two-pence, and twenty-six acres of meadow. Wood for the pannage of two hundred hogs. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth twenty pounds, and afterwards thirty pounds, now forty pounds.

Of the earl of Bologne this manor was held by a family who assumed their name from it. Alulphus de Boughton held it in the reign of king John, as appears by the Testa de Nevil, of the honor of Bologne. Stephen de Bocton died possessed of this manor in the 14th year of Edward I. holding it in capite by knight's service; together with its member, Hethenden, in Kent, and Orset, in Essex, both escheats of that honor. Soon after which it passed into the family of Burghersh, and Robert de Burghersh, constable of Dover castle, died possessed of this manor of Bocton Olaus in the 34th year of that reign, whose son Stephen, in the 1st year of Edward II obtained a charter of free-warren in all his demesne lands within it. To him succeeded Bartholomew, lord Bughersh, constable of Dover Castle, lord warden, and chamberlain of the king's household. In the 12th, and in the 16th years of Edward III. he had the charter of free-warren renewed for all his lands. (fn. 1) His son Bartholomew, lord Burghersh, about the 43d year of king Edward III. passed away this manor by sale, with much other land in this county and in Warwickshire, to Sir Walter de Paveley, K.G. who spelt his name both Paveley and Pavalli, and bore for his arms, Azure, a cross story, or, as they are now on the roof of Canterbury cloisters. After the death of whose grandson Walter, in the 4th year of king Richard II. it was found by inquisition, that this manor, with the advowson of the church of Bocton Aluph, descended by the entail of it to Thomas de Aldon, as his next heir, who became accordingly possessed of it, and afterwards alienated it to Sir Thomas Trivet, whose widow Elizabeth died possessed of it in the 12th year of king Henry VI. and was succeeded by Elizabeth, then wife of Edward Nevill, lord Bergavenny, fourth son of Ralph, earl of Westmoreland; as her next heir, and the entitled her husband above-mentioned to the possession of it. After her death he remarried Catherine, daughter of Sir Robert Howard, and died anno 19 Edward IV. being then possessed as tenant by the courtesy of England, of this manor among others of the inheritance of Elizabeth his first wife. His eldest son Sir George Nevill, lord Bergavenny; seems to have sold this manor to Sir Thomas Kempe, of Ollantigh, whose youngest son Thomas, bishop of London, died possessed of it in the 4th year of king Henry VII. leaving his nephew Sir Thomas Kempe his next heir, whose descendant Sir Thomas Kempe, of Ollantigh, about the latter and of queen Elizabeth's reign, alienated it to Finch, of Eastwell, in whose successors, earls of Winchelsea, it descended down to Daniel, earl of Winchelsea and Nottingham, who, by will in 1769, devised this manor to George Finch Hatton, esq. of Eastwell, the present owner of it.

SEATON is a small manor in this parish, which was held by knight's service in grand sergeantry, to provide one man, called a vautrer, to lead three greyhounds when the king should go into Gascony, until he had worn out a pair of shoes of the price of four-pence, bought at the king's cost; (fn. 2) by which service John de Criol, younger son of Bertram, held it at his death in the 48th year of king Henry III. whose grand-daughter Joane becoming heir to her brother's inheritance, who died s. p. she carried this manor in marriage to Sir Richard de Rokesle, who was found to hold it by the like service, in the 11th year of king Edward II. His eldest daughter and coheir Agnes married Thomas de Poynings, and entitled him to the possession of it. In whose descendants it continued till Alianore, daughter of Richard de Poynings, marrying Henry, lord Percy, eldest son of Henry, earl of Northamberland, he, in her right, became entitled to this manor among her other great inheritance in this county and elsewhere; and in his descendants this manor continued down to Henry, VIII. earl of Northamberland, (fn. 3) who, in the 23d year of Henry VIII. conveyed it to feoffees, who soon afterwards passed it away by sale to Sir Christopher Hales, afterwards knighted, and the king's attorney-general, whose lands were disgavelled by the act of the 31st year of Henry VIII. He died possessed of it in the 33d year of that reign, holding it of the king, as of his castle of Dover, by knight's service. He left three daughters his coheirs, who joined in the sale of it to Sir Thomas Moyle, of Eastwell, and chancellor of the king's court of augmentation, whose daughter and coheir Catherine, carried it in marriage to Sir Thomas Finch, of Eastwell, (fn. 4) in whose descendants, earls of Winchelsea, this manor continued down to Daniel, earl of Winchelsea and Nottingham, who dying in 1769, without male issue, gave it, together with his other estates in this county, to his nephew George Finch Hatton, esq. now of Eastwell, the present proprietor of it.

BARTON is a manor here, the mansion of which stood on the west side of the Ashford road, in the borough of Socombe, almost opposite to Buckwell, but it has been pulled down some years, and there is now only a barn on the scite of it. It was once part of the possessions of the family of Leyborne, of Leyborne, one of whom, Roger de Leyborne, died possessed of it in the 56th year of king Henry III. and in this name it continued till Juliana de Leyborne, daughter of Thomas, became the sole heir of their possessions, from the greatness of which, she was usually stiled the Infanta of Kent, who, though she had three husbands, all of whom she survived, yet she died s. p. in the 41st year of king Edward III. (fn. 5) Upon which this manor, among the rest of her estates, escheated to the crown, there being no one found who could make claim to her estates, by direct or even by collateral alliance. After which this manor continued in the crown, till king Richard II. vested it in feoffees in trust, towards the endowment of St. Stephen's chapel, at Westminister, which he had in his 22d year completed and made collegiate, and had the year before granted to the dean and canons of this manor, among others, in mortmain. In which situation it continued till the 1st year of king Edward VI. when this college was, with all its possessions, surrendered into the king's hands, who soon afterwards granted this manor to Sir Thomas Moyle, of Eastwell, and he parted with it to his brother Walter Moyle, esq. who afterwards resided at Buckwell, in this parish; and in his descendants, resident at Buckwell, this manor continued, till John Moyle, esq. of Buckwell, leaving Mary his sole daughter and heir, she carried it in marriage to Robert Breton, esq. of the Elmes, near Dover, who died possessed of it in 1708, and his son, Moyle Breton, esq. of Kennington, about the year 1730, sold this manor to Thomas May, afterwards Knight, esq. of Godmersham, whose son Tho. Knight, esq. of Godmersham, dying in 1794, s.p. gave it by will to his widow Mrs. Catherine Knight, but she has since resigned it to Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham park, who is the present owner of it.

BUCKWELL, which was once accounted a manor, is situated at a small distance from Barton last-mentioned, though on the opposite side of the road. It was, in the reign of the Conqueror, part of those estates which were given to William de Arsick, for his assistance in the desence of Dover castle, and made up, with them, the barony of Arsick, being held of it, as one knight's fee, by barony, as of the castle of Dover, to which it owed ward and service. Of him and his heirs this manor was again held by the family of Leyborne, one of whom, Roger de Leyborne, died possessed of it in the 56th year of Henry III. and was succeeded in it by William his son; but when it passed from this name, I have not found; but soon afterwards, the manor of Buckwell, and the mansion of it, seem to have been Separated, and in the possession of different owners; for the manor itself became the property of Robert de Burghersh, constable of Dover castle, and likewise lord warden, whose descendant Bartholomew, lord Burghersh, about the 43d year of king Edward III. conveyed it, with other land in this parish and elsewhere, to Sir Walter de Paveley, one of whose descendants passed it away to Sir Robert Belknap, chief justice of the common pleas, who in the 11th year of that reign was attainted, and banished to Ireland, and though he was afterwards permitted to return in the 20th year of it, yet his attainder still continued, and his lands remained forfeited as before, (fn. 6) and this manor remained in the crown till that king vested it in feoffees in trust, towards the endowment of St. Stephen's chapel, in Westminster, in the possession of the dean and canons, of which it remained till the suppression of that college in the 1st year of king Edward VI. when it came into the hands of the crown, whence it was granted to John Moyle, whose ancestors, resident at the mansion of Buckwell, had likewise been leffees of this manor under the deans and canons for some generations.

Mention has been made above, that the mansion of Buckwell had, before the reign of king Edward I. been separated from the manor itself; accordingly I find, that in the 8th year of king Edward III. William de la Hay died possessed of it, and that soon afterwards it became the property of a family who assumed their name from it, being usually called Bekewell. Henry de Bekewell appears by the escheat-rolls to have died possessed of it in the 10th year of that reign, as did his descendant, of the same name, in the 17th year of king Richard II. After this family was extinct here, this seat became the property of Wode, and remained so till the 34th year of Henry VI. and then Robert Wode passed it away by sale to Walter Moyle, ancestor of John Moyle, esq. of this place, who had the grant of the manor of Buckwell from king Edward VI. as be fore-mentioned. The Moyles were descended from Thomas Moyle, of Bodmin, in Cornwall, whose grandson Sir Walter, third son of Henry, was of Eastwell, and purchaser of this estate, as before-mentioned. His eldest son John had several sons, of whom John was father of Ralph Moyle, who died at Eastwell in 1582. Walter was of Buckwell, and ancestor of the Moyles of this place; and Thomas, who was knighted, and was of Eastwell, left two daughters his coheirs, married to Finch and Kempe. They bore for their arms, Gules, a mule passant, within a bordure, argent. There are many memorials of them in both the chancels of this church. (fn. 7) In the descendants of John Moyle, resident at Buckwell, this manor and seat continued till Mary, sole daughter and heir of John Moyle, esq. carried both of them in marriage to Robert Breton, esq. of the Elmes, near Dover, whose son Moyle Breton, esq. of Kennington, about the year 1730, being enabled so to do by an act passed for this purpose, sold them, with other adjoining estates, to Thomas May, afterwards Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and his only son and heir Thomas Knight, esq. of that place, on his death, s. p. in 1794, gave them by will to his widow, Mrs. Catherine Knight, who likewise resigned them to Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham, the present owner of them.

Wilmington, called likewise antiently Wilmingdon, is a manor which lies at the southern part of this parish, on the Ashford road likewise. It gives name to the borough in which it stands, and to the hamlet of houses which stand round about it. Robert de Wilmington held this manor in the reign of Henry III. in grand sergeantry, of the honor of Bolegne, by the service of being the earl's cook, it being then valued at two marcs. His descendant Bertram de Wilmington, died possessed of it in the 12th year of Edward II. when it was found by inquisition, that he held it of the king in capite, by the service of finding for the king one pot-hook for his meat, whenever he should come within the manor of Boughton Aluph. (fn. 8) His descendant, of the same name, died possessed of it in the 6th year of king Henry V. After which it came into the possession of John Mowbray, duke of Norfolk, who was possessed of it in the 2d year of Edward IV. On his death the great inheritance of the Mowbrays came to the descendants of his two sisters and coheirs, and in the division of it John, lord Howard, in right of his mother Margaret, the eldest of them, became entitled to this manor. He was one of the most illustrious noblemen of his time, and having continued faithful to the house of York, he remained no less stedfast to the interest of king Richard III. who created him duke of Norsolk, earl marshal and lord admiral of England. But he did not enjoy these honors long; for he was next year slain in the battle of Bosworth, fighting on the king's behalf, and in the 1st year of Henry VII. he was attainted in parliament, and this manor, among his other possessions, became confiscated to the crown; (fn. 9) whence it was afterwards granted to Moyle, in which name it continued till the beginning of Edward VI.'s reign, when by Catherine, daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Moyle, of Eastwell, it went in marriage to Sir Thomas Finch, of that parish, who died in 1563, and she remarrying with Nicholas St. Leger, esq. of Beamstone, in Westwell, entitled him to it for her life. She died in 1586, on which it came to her son Sir Moyle Finch, bart. in whose descendants, earl of Winchelsea, it descended down to Daniel, earl of Winchelsea and Nottingham, who at his death in 1769, devised it to his nephew George Finch Hatton, esq. now of Eastwell, the present owner of it.

But Part Of The Demesne Lands of this manor were sold off, about the year 1713, to the Rev. Hilkiah Bedford, publisher of the bereditary Right of the Crown of England asserted, whose eldest son William Bedford M.D. whose daughter Elizabeth marrying Mr. Claxton, of Shirley, in Surry, has entitled him to the possession of it.

ANOTHER PART of this estate, now called Little Wilmington, in the reign of king Henry VI. was in the possession of Richard Sandys, who alienated it to John Barough, who resided at it, and died possessed of it in the 1st year of king Edward IV. One of his descendants, Richard Barrowe, resided here in the reigns of king Elizabeth and James I. and died in the 6th year of the latter, leaving three sons, Robert, Richard, and William, to which last he devised his house and lands in Borden, and from him descended the Barrows of that parish. To Robert Barrow, his eldest son, he devised this estate of Little Wilmington, and in his descendants it continued, till it was at length sold to Knott, and from that name again to Dr. William Egerton, prebendary of Canterbury, who died possessed of it in 1728, leaving two daughters his coheirs, and his widow surviving, upon whose death it came to Jemima, widow of Edward Bridges, esq. of Wotton, one of the above-mentioned coheirs, and William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, the eldest son of William Hammond, esq. of that place, by Charlotte the other coheir; and upon a division made, this estate was allotted to Mrs. Bridges above-mentioned, now of Canterbury, and she is the present possessor of it.

MARDOL MANOR is the last place to be mentioned in this parish, lying on the south side of it. This manor was antiently the patrimony of the Corbies in which it continued till Robert Corbie, in the reign of king Richard II. leaving an only daughter and heir Joane, she carried it, among the rest of her inheritance, to Sir Nicholas Wotton, whose descendant Thomas Wotton, esq. in the reign of queen Elizabeth, passed it away by sale to Sprott, from which name, in the reign of king Charles I. it was alienated to Thomas Finch, earl of Winchelsea, in whose descendants it continued down to Daniel, earl of Winchelsea and Nottingham, who in 1769, gave it by will, with the rest of his estates in this county, to his nephew George Finch Hatton, esq. now the present owner of it.

Charities.

MR. JOHN BOUGHTON, vicar, left to this parish by will, in 1642, 30s. per annum to such poor as had great charge of children, aged and incapable to work, to be distributed on the Thursday in Whitsun-week; and to the churchwardens and overseers, 10s. per annum, for a sermon to be preached on that day, to be paid out of house and land on Boughton lees.

MR. THOMAS KEEPS left by will in 1780, 20s. per annum to the use of the poor, out of a field in Great Chart, rented at 6l. per annum, the remainder of the rent being left to five other parishes.

MR. WILLIAM CROW left by will in 1770, to this parish, the sum of 90l. to be put into the public funds, the amount of the profits of it to be yearly distributed by the owners of Eastwell-place, among such honest and well disposed poor aged men and women, especially widows, as they should consider real objects of charity; but not to persons receiving alms, in relief of the parish.

There is an alms-house belonging to this parish, on Boughtonlees, containing six dwellings.

The poor constantly relieved are about 15, casually 20.

BOUGHTON ALUPH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

The church, which is dedicated to All Saints, is large and handsome, built of slint, with ashlar stone to the doors, windows, and quoins. It consists of three isles and two chancels. The steeple is a large low tower, standing on four pillars in the middle of it. There are five bells in it, and at the south-east corner, adjoining to the tower, is a large square addition, in which is a stone stair-case. Both the chancels did belong to the Buckwell estate; but the family of Breton having buried in both since their sale of it, without Mr. Knight's permission, he refused to repair them, and they are now repaired by Mr. Breton. In the great chancel, within the rails, is a monument for Thomas Austen, esq. obt. 1637. In this and the north chancel are many gravestones of the Moiles and Bretons. In the north chancel is a handsome monument of marble, for Amy, wife of Josias Clerk, gent. of Essex, daughter of John Moyle, esq. of Buckwell, obt. 1631, having the effigies of her lying at full length, and of her three children kneeling at her head and feet, in full proportion, under a canopy. In the middle isle is a memorial for John Mascall, esq. obt. 1769; arms, Two bars, over all, three escutcheons ermine, impaling a saltier, and on it a crescent, for difference; and there are memorials for others likewise of the same family.

The church of Boughton Aluph, as has been already mentioned before, was antiently an appendage to the manor, and continued so in the 4th year of Richard II. when Sir Walter Pavely died possessed of the same, and it was found that Sir Thomas de Aldon was his next heir. How long afterwards it continued in his heirs I have not found; but in the reign of Henry VI. the advowson of this rectory was become the property of cardinal John Kempe, archbishop of York, who settled it on his new-founded college of Wye, and in the 29th year of that reign the master and chaplains of it had the king's licence to receive this advowson from the cardinal, and to appropriate the rectory of it to themselves; (fn. 10) and a vicarage was endowed here. In which situation it remained till the suppression of the college, in the 36th year of Henry VIII. when it was surrendered into the king's hands, who that year granted this church, with the presentation of the vicarage of it, among other premises, to Walter Bucler, esq. to hold in capite, with certain provisos for the maintenance of the curates and schoolmaster of Wye; which grant, on his non-performance of these conditions, became forfeited, and king Charles I. in his 2d and 5th years, granted the same premises, with the proviso for the payment of certain stipends to the before-mentioned curate and schoolmaster, to Robert Maxwell, from whose heirs this rectory and advowson was afterwards sold to Moyle, of Buckwell, in which name it continued till Mary, daughter and sole heir of John Moyle, esq. of Buckwell, carried them in marriage to Robert Breton, esq. of the Elmes, near Dover, who died possessed of them in 1708, and his great grandson the Rev. Moyle Breton, of Kennington, is the present owner of the parsonage appropriate of Boughton, with the advowson of the vicarage of this church, who pays twenty pounds per annum from it towards the stipends of the curate and schoolmaster of Wye, as stipulated in Robert Maxwell's patent, the several premises granted in it being now in different hands as has been already more fully mentioned before.

It is valued in the king's books at 6l. 5s. the yearly tenths being 12s. 6d. but it is now of the clear yearly certified value (delivered in 1752) of 58l. 6s. 10d.

In 1578 here were communicants one hundred and fifty-four; in 1640, one hundred and seventy-seven. It is now worth about eighty pounds per annum. There are twenty three acres of glebe belonging to it.

There was a composition in 1305 entered into between the rector of Westwell and Stephen de Wilmington, rector of this church, concerning the tithes of the hamlets of Shotingdon, Chilberton, and Wike.

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol7/pp384-398

On the Fourth Day, the Seasons, Days, and Years of Mankind Come Into Being as God Exerts His Authority Once Again by Sally Vine

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/recital-god-himself-the-unique-v...

"God is the Master of the rules that control the universe, He controls the rules that govern the survival of all things, and He also controls the universe and all things such that they can live together; He makes it so they do not go extinct or disappear so that mankind may continue to exist, man can live in such an environment through God’s leadership. These rules that govern all things are under the dominion of God, however, mankind cannot intervene and cannot change them; only God Himself knows these rules and only He Himself manages them. When will the trees sprout, when will it rain, how much water and how many nutrients will the earth give the plants, in what season will the leaves fall, in what season will the trees bear fruit, how much energy will the sunlight give the trees, what will the trees exhale from the energy they get from the sunlight—these are all things that God had already arranged when He created the universe and they are laws that cannot be broken by man. The things created by God—whether they are living or appear to be non-living by people—are all in God’s hands and under His dominion. No man can change or break this rule. That is to say, when God created all things He formulated how they should be. The tree could not set down roots, sprout, and grow without the earth. What would the earth be like if it had no trees? It would dry out. Isn’t this right? (Yes.) Also, the tree is the home of the songbirds, it is a place where they take shelter from the wind. Would it be OK if the tree went without sunlight? (It would not be OK.) If the tree only had the earth that would not work. All of this is for mankind and for mankind’s survival. Man receives fresh air from the tree, and lives upon the earth protected by it. Man cannot live without sunlight, man cannot live without all the various living beings. Even though the relationships between these things are complex, people must clearly understand that God created the rules that govern all things so that they may exist in an interconnected and interdependent way; every single thing He created has value and significance. If God created something without significance, God would let it disappear. Understand? (Yes.) This is one of the methods He used in the provision of all things. What does “provide for” refer to in this story? Does God go out and water the tree every day? Does the tree need God’s help to breathe? (No.) “Provide for” in this instance refers to God’s management of all things after creation; all He needed were rules to keep things running smoothly. The tree grew all by itself by being planted in the earth. The conditions for it to grow were all created by God. He made the sunlight, the water, the soil, the air, and the surrounding environment, the wind, frost, snow, and rain, and the four seasons; these are the conditions that the tree needs in order to grow, these are things that God prepared. So, is God the source of this living environment? (Yes.) Does God have to go out every day and count each leaf on the trees? There’s no need, right? God also doesn’t have to help the tree breathe. God also doesn’t have to wake up the sunlight every day by saying, “It’s time to shine on the trees now.” He doesn’t have to do that. The sunlight shines down on its own as prescribed by the rules, it shines on the tree and the tree soaks it in. This is how things live within the rules. Perhaps this is a phenomenon you might not be familiar with, but it is a fact everyone has seen and has accepted. All you need to do is recognize that the rules for the existence of all things come from God and know that their growth and survival are under God’s dominion. This proves that God is the source for all life."

(The Word Appears in the Flesh)

The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, Lincoln by Jelltex

2

Lincoln Cathedral (in full The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, or sometimes St. Mary's Cathedral) is a cathedral located in Lincoln in England and seat of the Bishop of Lincoln in the Church of England. Building commenced in 1088 and continued in several phases throughout the medieval period. It was reputedly the tallest building in the world for 238 years (1311–1549).[1][2][3] The central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt. The cathedral is the third largest in Britain (in floor space) after St Paul's and York Minster, being 484 by 271 feet (148 by 83 m). It is highly regarded by architectural scholars; the eminent Victorian writer John Ruskin declared: "I have always held... that the cathedral of Lincoln is out and out the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles and roughly speaking worth any two other cathedrals we have."

Remigius de Fécamp, the first Bishop of Lincoln, moved the episcopal seat (cathedra) there "some time between 1072 and 1092"[4] About this, James Essex writes that "Remigius ... laid the foundations of his Cathedral in 1088" and "it is probable that he, being a Norman, employed Norman masons to superintend the building ... though he could not complete the whole before his death."[5] Before that, writes B. Winkles, "It is well known that Remigius appropriated the parish church of St Mary Magdalene in Lincoln, although it is not known what use he made of it

Up until then St. Mary's Church in Stow was considered to be the "mother church"[7] of Lincolnshire[8] (although it was not a cathedral, because the seat of the diocese was at Dorchester Abbey in Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire). However, Lincoln was more central to a diocese that stretched from the Thames to the Humber.

Bishop Remigius built the first Lincoln Cathedral on the present site, finishing it in 1092 and then dying on 9 May of that year,[9] two days before it was consecrated. In 1141, the timber roofing was destroyed in a fire. Bishop Alexander rebuilt and expanded the cathedral, but it was mostly destroyed by an earthquake about forty years later, in 1185 (dated by the BGS as occurring 15 April 1185).[6][10] The earthquake was one of the largest felt in the UK: it has an estimated magnitude of over 5. The damage to the cathedral is thought to have been very extensive: the Cathedral is described as having "split from top to bottom"; in the current building, only the lower part of the west end and of its two attached towers remain of the pre-earthquake cathedral.[10] Some (Kidson, 1986; Woo, 1991) have suggested that the damage to Lincoln Cathedral was probably exaggerated by poor construction or design; with the actual collapse most probably caused by a vault collapse.[10]

After the earthquake, a new bishop was appointed. He was Hugh de Burgundy of Avalon, France, who became known as St Hugh of Lincoln. He began a massive rebuilding and expansion programme. Rebuilding began with the choir (St Hugh's Choir) and the eastern transepts between 1192 and 1210.[11] The central nave was then built in the Early English Gothic style. Lincoln Cathedral soon followed other architectural advances of the time – pointed arches, flying buttresses and ribbed vaulting were added to the cathedral. This allowed support for incorporating larger windows. There are thirteen bells in the south-west tower, two in the north-west tower, and five in the central tower (including Great Tom). Accompanying the cathedral's large bell, Great Tom of Lincoln, is a quarter-hour striking clock. The clock was installed in the early 19th century.[12] The two large stained glass rose windows, the matching Dean's Eye and Bishop's Eye, were added to the cathedral during the late Middle Ages. The former, the Dean's Eye in the north transept dates from the 1192 rebuild begun by St Hugh, finally being completed in 1235. The latter, the Bishop's eye, in the south transept was reconstructed a hundred years later in 1330.[13] A contemporary record, “The Metrical Life of St Hugh”, refers to the meaning of these two windows (one on the dark, north, side and the other on the light, south, side of the building):

"For north represents the devil, and south the Holy Spirit and it is in these directions that the two eyes look. The bishop faces the south in order to invite in and the dean the north in order to shun; the one takes care to be saved, the other takes care not to perish. With these Eyes the cathedral’s face is on watch for the candelabra of Heaven and the darkness of Lethe (oblivion)."

After the additions of the Dean's eye and other major Gothic additions it is believed some mistakes in the support of the tower occurred, for in 1237 the main tower collapsed. A new tower was soon started and in 1255 the Cathedral petitioned Henry III to allow them to take down part of the town wall to enlarge and expand the Cathedral, including the rebuilding of the central tower and spire. They replaced the small rounded chapels (built at the time of St Hugh) with a larger east end to the cathedral. This was to handle the increasing number of pilgrims to the Cathedral, who came to worship at the shrine of Hugh of Lincoln.

In 1290 Eleanor of Castile died and King Edward I of England decided to honour her, his Queen Consort, with an elegant funeral procession. After her body had been embalmed, which in the 13th century involved evisceration, Eleanor's viscera were buried in Lincoln cathedral and Edward placed a duplicate of the Westminster Abbey tomb there. The Lincoln tomb's original stone chest survives; its effigy was destroyed in the 17th century and replaced with a 19th-century copy. On the outside of Lincoln Cathedral are two prominent statues often identified as Edward and Eleanor, but these images were heavily restored in the 19th century and they were probably not originally intended to depict the couple.

Between 1307 and 1311 the central tower was raised to its present height of 271 feet (83 m). The western towers and front of the cathedral were also improved and heightened. At this time, a tall lead-encased wooden spire topped the central tower but was blown down in a storm in 1549. With its spire, the tower reputedly reached a height of 525 feet (160 m) (which would have made it the world's tallest structure, surpassing the Great Pyramid of Giza, which held the record for almost 4,000 years). Although there is dissent,[1] this height is agreed by most sources.[14][15][16][17][18] Other additions to the cathedral at this time included its elaborate carved screen and the 14th-century misericords, as was the Angel Choir. For a large part of the length of the cathedral, the walls have arches in relief with a second layer in front to give the illusion of a passageway along the wall. However the illusion does not work, as the stonemason, copying techniques from France, did not make the arches the correct length needed for the illusion to be effective.

In 1398 John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford founded a chantry in the cathedral to pray for the welfare of their souls. In the 15th century the building of the cathedral turned to chantry or memorial chapels. The chapels next to the Angel Choir were built in the Perpendicular style, with an emphasis on strong vertical lines, which survive today in the window tracery and wall panelling.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, Lincoln by Jelltex

The three military chapels, and the final three uploads from Lincoln Cathedral.

had not been to Lincoln for some seven years, and back then I had little entrance in churches. But all that is different now, but I guess even then I knew there was something special about how the cathedral and church sat atop their hill with the ancient Steep Hill leading the way up from the river.

Of course, as I visit more and more fine buildings and churches, I notice more and more things, and so take more and more photos, so for those of you not interested in churches, I suppose this could be a tad dull? I hope not, Lincoln was splendid, and well worth a trip, or even a return.

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